Tensile Modulus of Film Stacked Palm Fibers-LDPE Sheet Composites

Palm fiber-LDPE composites were prepared by a film-stacking methodstudying the effects of fibers content, their length, processing temperatureand alkaline treatment on tensile modulus and modulus efficiency factor. Itwas found that up to 5 wt.% and processing temperature to 160°C inaddition to alkaline treatment improved the tensile modulus and modulusefficiency factor to a certain limit due to an enhancement in load carryingand interfacial adhesion, also it was obvious that long fibers play a positiverole in load transfer; improving the tensile modulus and its efficiency factordue to effective load transfer. Ductility was decreased due to the brittlebehavior of the fibers

Treatment of olive mill based wastewater by means of magnetic nanoparticles: Decolourization, dephenolization and COD removal

AbstractOlive mill wastewater (OMW) is an environmental concern that has been highlighted as a serious environmental problem in the Mediterranean basin countries because of its high organic load and phytotoxic and antibacterial phenolic compounds, which resist biological degradation. Consequently, this type of wastewater represents a huge challenge for the conventional wastewater treatment techniques as it can impact the lifetime of bacteria needed for the treatment. Iron-oxide nanoparticles are attractive for wastewater treatment for two important reasons. First, nanoparticles can remove pollutants from wastewater rapidly. Second, this magnetic type of nanoparticles could be separated easily using a magnet after finishing treatment process. In this study, we aimed at investigating the effectiveness of the magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in the removal of large organic contaminants from OMW. Batch and continuous mode processes were applied on OMW treatment to determine the effect of contact time, solution pH, coexisting contaminants and the adsorption isotherm.The results showed that the adsorption was fast and the adsorption reached equilibrium within less than 30min. The adsorption equilibrium data fit very well to the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) Model, indicating multi-layers adsorption. The adsorption of major pollutants was associated to an efficient removal of coexisting contaminants such as heavy metals and free ions. The adsorption of OMW pollutants was dependent on pH of the solution. Finally, continuous-mode process was tested successfully using a packed bed column that combined sand filtration with magnetic nanoparticles to decolourize OMW effluent. This study will provide valuable insight on the effect of nanoparticles toward the treatment and recyclability of olive mill wastewater, which is crucial for the local olive mill industry. After seeing the successful achievement of integrating nanoparticles with fixed bed filtration, a preliminary process description and cost estimation of stand-alone plant (with a capacity of 4m3/h) for OMW treatment were considered in this study. Process capital and annual operating costs were estimated to be $12,306 and$476/year, respectively

Nanocellulose/Fullerene Hybrid Films Assembled at the Air/Water Interface as Promising Functional Materials for Photo-Electrocatalysis

Cellulose nanomaterials have been widely investigated in the last decade, unveiling attractive properties for emerging applications. The ability of sulfated cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) to guide the supramolecular organization of amphiphilic fullerene derivatives at the air/water interface has been recently highlighted. Here, we further investigated the assembly of Langmuir hybrid films that are based on the electrostatic interaction between cationic fulleropyrrolidines deposited at the air/water interface and anionic CNCs dispersed in the subphase, assessing the influence of additional negatively charged species that are dissolved in the water phase. By means of isotherm acquisition and spectroscopic measurements, we demonstrated that a tetra-sulfonated porphyrin, which was introduced in the subphase as anionic competitor, strongly inhibited the binding of CNCs to the floating fullerene layer. Nevertheless, despite the strong inhibition by anionic molecules, the mutual interaction between fulleropyrrolidines at the interface and the CNCs led to the assembly of robust hybrid films, which could be efficiently transferred onto solid substrates. Interestingly, ITO-electrodes that were modified with five-layer hybrid films exhibited enhanced electrical capacitance and produced anodic photocurrents at 0.4 V vs Ag/AgCl, whose intensity (230 nA/cm2) proved to be four times higher than the one that was observed with the sole fullerene derivative (60 nA/cm2)

Carbon-dots conductometric sensor for high performance gas sensing

In this paper the first example of using C-dots (CDs) as sensing nanomaterial for monitoring low concentrations of NO2 in ambient air is reported. In the logic to support a green circular economy, CDs were prepared from a natural low cost precursor consisting in olive solid waste (OSW) by a simple pyrolysis process combined with chemical oxidation. Characterization data showed the formation of spherical CDs with dimensions in the narrow size range from 0.5 to 5 nm and charged with functional groups (COO- (carboxylate), C-O-C (epoxide) and C-OH (hydroxyl) imprinting excellent water colloidal dispersion. The nanomaterial was used to fabricate and test a conductometric gas sensor (CDs-sensor) that was found to exhibit excellent performances in terms of high and selective response to sub-ppm concentration of NO2 at low temperature (150 °C), low limit of detection (LOD) of 50 ppb, good reproducibility and stability over use and aging. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example reported in the literature of CDs high performances gas sensing material. Results here presented pave the way for a new class of a carbon nanomaterial for gas sensing to be applied in the field of environmental monitoring

Tensile Modulus of Film Stacked Palm Fibers-LDPE Sheet Composites

Palm fiber-LDPE composites were prepared by a film-stacking method studying the effects of fibers content, their length, processing temperature and alkaline treatment on tensile modulus and modulus efficiency factor. It was found that up to 5 wt.% and processing temperature to 160°C in addition to alkaline treatment improved the tensile modulus and modulus efficiency factor to a certain limit due to an enhancement in load carrying and interfacial adhesion, also it was obvious that long fibers play a positive role in load transfer; improving the tensile modulus and its efficiency factor due to effective load transfer. Ductility was decreased due to the brittle behavior of the fibers

Pattern of self-medication with analgesics among Iranian University students in central Iran

Background: Self-medication is defined as the use of drugs for the treatment of self-diagnosed disorders. It is influenced by factors such as education, family, society, law, availability of drugs and exposure to advertisements. This study was performed to evaluate self-medication with analgesics and its pattern among different groups of Iranian University Students. Materials and Methods: A randomized, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted from December 2009 to February 2010. The target population of this study was 564 students out of 10,000 students attending four medical and non-medical science universities in Qom state. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16, and analysis was conducted with descriptive analysis procedures. Results: 76.6% of the students had used analgesics in self-medication in the previous 3 months. The frequency of analgesic use in the study period was once in 19.2% of the participants, twice in 22.2%, three times in 16.3% and more than three times in 35.5% of the participants, although 6.8% of them were not sure when they were used. Of all the respondents, 49.8% reported headache as the problem. This was the most common problem, after which came Dysmenorrhea,headache and stomach ache. Bone and joint pains were other problems that led to the use of analgesics. The most commonly used source of information for self-medication with analgesics was advice from friends and family (54.7%), previously prescribed medications (30.1%), their medical knowledge (13.3%) and recommendation of a pharmacist (1.9%). Conclusion: Self-medication with analgesics is very high among Iranian students in Qom city. This could be an index for other parts of the Iranian community. Because the source of information about analgesics is inappropriate, we would recommend education courses about analgesics and self-medication on the radio and television for the entire population

Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline by {ZnO}/\upgamma-Fe2O3 Paramagnetic Nanocomposite Material

none9In recent years, the presence of numerous xenobiotic substances, such as antibiotics, has been detected in water environments. They can be considered as environmental contaminants, even if their effect on human health has yet to be totally understood. Several approaches have been studied for the removal of these kinds of pollutants. Among these compounds, tetracycline (TC), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is one of the most commonly found in water due to its widespread use. In the context of reducing the presence of TC in aqueous solution, in this contribution, a composite catalyst based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) was developed and its photocatalytic properties were investigated. The catalytic materials were synthesized by a microwave-assisted aqueous solution method and characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The TC concentration was evaluated by spectrophotometer measurements at specific time intervals. The performed photocatalytic experiments clearly demonstrated that the ZnO/γ-Fe2O3 composite catalyst presents significant photocatalytic activity, indeed a TC degradation efficiency of 88.52% was registered after 150 min. The presence of iron oxide in the structure of the catalyst enhances both the surface area and the pore volume, facilitating the adsorption of the analyte on the surface of nanostructures, a fundamental phase to optimize a photodegradation process. Moreover, ZnO was found to play the key role in the photocatalytic process assisted by γ-Fe2O3 which enhanced the TC degradation efficiency by 20%.nonePaola Semeraro; Simona Bettini; Shadi Sawalha; Sudipto Pal; Antonio Licciulli; Fabio Marzo; Nicola Lovergine; Ludovico Valli; Gabriele GiancaneSemeraro, Paola; Bettini, Simona; Sawalha, Shadi; Pal, Sudipto Kumar; Licciulli, ANTONIO ALESSANDRO; Marzo, Fabio; Lovergine, Nicola; Valli, Ludovico; Giancane, Gabriel